Hurricane Hunters are Real Heroes

Ask a young kid about their heroes these days, and with the exception of a few who will name their parents, most will name some singer, actor, or sports figure.

Those people are NOT heroes.  Fame and heroism are NOT synonymous.  

REAL HEROES rush into buring buildings to save lives, they fling themselves upon grenades to save their fellows, they swim through icy waters to rescue souls in peril, they persue dangerous criminals to prevent them from harming others.  THOSE, and others like them are heroes. 

Hurricane Hunters are heroes, too, in my book.  When others are fleeing the wrath of mother nature, they board airplanes equipped with meteorological instruments, and fly headlong into hurricanes – some of the world’s most dangerous and violent storms -  and they do it in the name of public safety.  Can you imagine what that ride must be like?  And it isn’t short, either.  The planes can be inside the turbulence of  a hurricane for hours,  facing rotating winds of well over 100 miles per hour.   It’s no walk in the park, but they do it.  And then, they do it again. 

Related articles:

2011 Hurricane Predictions

2011 Atlantic Hurricane Names

NOAA Weather Radio